Endless Hobbies

A Case Study

This is an example of an actual merchant’s reports over time and how Audit Advantage helped them manage/reduce their credit card processing costs.

Note: names have been changed to protect client confidentiality.

August 2014

For years, Endless Hobby believed they had a competitive credit card processing program because their sales representative had told them they were paying a very low Qualified Rate. In August 2014, Endless Hobby was convinced to try Audit Advantage by a business colleague. Endless Hobby enrolled in Audit Advantage and sent a few statements for analysis. They were surprised to find that their program was costing them thousands of dollars in excessive markup and avoidable fees. Their “Qualified Rate” only applied to 25% of their transactions. The remaining transactions were subject to a “Non-Qualified Rate” and additional surcharges. Endless Hobby decided to use the information in their Audit Advantage report and contacted their processor.

November 2014

After receiving their Audit Advantage report in October 2014, Endless Hobby decided to contact their processor and renegotiate their credit card processing program. Endless Hobby and an Audit Advantage professional spoke with the processor and highlighted the overages in their program. Endless Hobby’s processor conceded to some of the demands but they refused to offer a program that would offer the best Achievable Rate. Endless Hobby’s processor alerted them that past price increases had become permanent because Endless Hobby consented to the increases when they continued to process after the additional costs took effect. Audit Advantage recommended a new processor that guaranteed to deliver a competitive program and guaranteed savings. Endless Hobby decided to switch processors in October 2014. They can see from their new Audit Advantage reports that their Average Effective Rate is nearly identical to the Achievable Effective Rate. Additionally, the Excessive Annual Costs in their program have been reduced to a negligible amount. Endless Hobby needs to keep sending monthly statements to Audit Advantage to ensure that their program stays on track because processors are always adding fees and increasing markup. Sometimes these additional fees can become permanent when not disputed.